Developmental Asset #8: Youth As Resources

A community serves its young people well when it treats them as valuable resources. As parents, teachers, and community members, here are a few ways you can empower adolescents by giving them useful roles.

If you’re in charge of a charity fundraiser, celebration, or other event, involve your teenagers. Give them meaningful tasks so that they can contribute to your event’s success. If you run a business or charity, employ young people and help them succeed at the jobs you give them.

Encourage your teens to support their peers, to listen and be there for them when they need help. Being a supportive friend is good for your teen’s self-esteem.

Encourage your teens to act as positive role models for younger children. Maybe get them involved in Phoenix’s mentorship program. If you have a younger child, encourage positive relationships with well-adjusted teens who share their interests.

Encourage entrepreneurship in teens. Hire neighbourhood kids to shovel your walk, mow your lawn, or babysit. Encourage your own teens to think of creative ways to earn money through their own marketable skills.

RECOMMENDED READING: Empowering Youth: How to Encourage Young Leaders to Do Great Things by Kelly Curtis

Search Institute has identified 40 building blocks of healthy development, known as Developmental Assets, that help adolescents to grow up healthy, caring, and responsible. Visit us here every Wednesday to read about different ways that you, your family, and your community can take action to help equip our young people develop resilience and achieve success in life.